Secret
by YunCyn
Summary: A story made out of two connecting drabbles. Huh. Anyway, it begins with Unohana having tea on her verandah at night, watching the moon. [moderate ByakuyaUnohananess]
1. Tea & Shadows

_Secret_

**Disclaimer: **Bleach (c) Kubo Tite.

**A/N:** A fairly strange kind of two-parter story but it works like that in my mind. Anyway, this one takes place before the Soul Society arc.

* * *

Unohana Retsu has no secrets. 

She had died in the real world, an ordinary woman. She has not married for some reason or another and with amusement, notes that she does not marry even after death. But that is quite beside the point.

She had entered the Shinigami academy some time after her demise. She had shown exceptional skill at healing powers and slowly, risen to be the captain of the fourth division.

Her life and her life after death is there for all to see, clear and unhidden. Her role in this place is simple and clear cut.

Yes, she thinks as she sits by herself on the large verandah, drinking her warm tea and gazing up at the silver crescent moon, her role is small but she is content with that. There are others with far longer stories, far more complex tales to tell. Most of her peers have painful stories behind their eyes. Or stories that they would much rather ignore. They are all stories her healing arts will not heal no matter how hard she tries.

The moon casts a light on these nights strong enough to illuminate even those beyond its reach.

It is why she can see somewhat a certain profile now in the dark shadow, walking slowly as if purposely avoiding the moonlight.

She thinks back to a particular face, framed by wealth, fashioned by rules. She can see his profile in her mind's eye, the stern set of his jaw, the story behind the sternness. She has no close connections to him but she has heard his story and it is one that only he can resolve.

She watches him quietly, never going near and never calling out. She knows it is not something wise. So she silently sits on the wooden verandah, watching the tall shadow stroll past.

And for a moment, the shadow seems to stop. It lingers for just a fraction of a second before going on.

She likes to think that he has seen her but that he thinks nothing of it. For after all, she is only a simple woman drinking tea on moonlit nights, thinking on a multitude of things.

She doesn't know how many nights he walks alone but sometimes, on these warm nights when she sleeps late, she can see him moving in the shadows.

And she will watch him for some time. Perhaps it is to assure herself later on, that he did indeed make his way across the ground until she could see him no longer.

Unohana Retsu has no secrets.

Save for one.

And it is that the tea often grows cold before she is finished watching Kuchiki Byakuya take his long, deliberate night walks that stretch out till late after dark.

* * *

**A/N: **Onto part two? Wonderful! No? Oh well. Thanks for dropping by anyway. (smile) 


	2. Glimpses & Moonlight

_Secret II_

**Disclaimer:** Same as previous one.

**A/N:** ...ok, so I couldn't think up another title. Sorry. This one takes place _after_ the Soul Society arc.

* * *

Kuchiki Byakuya walks again this night, the nightly patrols of Seireitei in the seventh division's hands. 

He wonders how Rukia is doing in the human world once more, and how she is holding up. Doubtless, she and the others will be causing a ruckus he is glad he doesn't have to oversee.

But it is that kind of ruckus, he knows, that might save them all.

He has little energy to entertain the thoughts of war and enemies, as all of them have these days. The days are kept for that purpose; the nights are left alone for other things.

He goes by the division lodges, seeing other Shinigami go back and forth occasionally.

A familiar lodge comes into view.

He vaguely recalls that every so often, she could be seen on her verandah, drinking tea and not moving an inch. He knows she can glimpse him past the trees and bushes, perhaps as a blurry white shade.

Tonight however, she isn't present and after a moment of contemplation, he moves on.

Some way ahead, he stops a few feet ahead of her. From the moment he passed by the lodge, he had already sensed her spirit pressure. Therefore he isn't surprised.

She smiles congenially at him. "If you do not wish for company, I will leave at once, Kuchiki-taichou."

He looks at her for a while and raises an eyebrow. "If I didn't wish for company, I would have taken a different route."

She just continues smiling. "Thank you."

Byakuya doesn't stop to think of why Unohana's thanking him for or for what. Instead, he falls into step beside her. The moonlight manages to catch them both as they walk, casting their shadows against the ground.

Kuchiki Byakuya has more than one secret.

He adds one more tonight.

And it is his faint hope that the walk with Unohana Retsu can be repeated.

* * *

**A/N: **About as subtle as a brick to the face, this one. (sighs) Anyway, thanks for reading! 


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